Secular Meditation

Mind Training

Cultivating Emotional Balance Teachers Training:

Recently developed as a result of the Shamatha Project is the Cultivating Emotional Balance Teachers training which is a combination of Shamatha Meditation, The Four Immeasurables and Paul Ekman’s work on understanding and detecting emotions. This training has been developed by Alan Wallace and Paul Ekman in response to a request from the Dalai Lama at a Mind and Life Conference.

Julie Smith

Julie has a unique story of transition from a successful corporate career to secular meditation teacher. She is the founder of Nature meditations and the creator of a unique five step program to support gaining mastery of meditation techniques to reduce stress levels for improved health and well being. Julie is a Trustee of the Contemplative Consciousness Network and an active member of our London Study Group.

The Potential Project

The Potential Project is a leading supplier of the highest quality of Mindfulness Training on a global scale. With trainers all over the world we are the only ones who can offer streamlined programs to multinational companies. At the same time our long experience makes us able to design tailor made solutions to our client whether they are big or small.

We offer a lineup of highly experienced trainers and well tested and clear programs and materials. These are the causes of our remarkable results and rapid growth. Our flexible program setups enable us to offer the programs at very cost-competitive prices.

Oxford International Meditation Research Group

The aim of the OIMRG is to conduct rigorous phenomenological research into the effects of various meditative practices. This data will then be interpreted by academics from various fields, within both the sciences and the humanities.

We hope that through interdisciplinary communication we can come to a deeper understanding of what meditation entails, how it affects both our minds and bodies, and how we can best employ these techniques for the benefit of society.

Building on the recent growth in meditation research, and in particular the application of ‘mindfulness’ techniques, we aim to further explore the full transformative potential of meditation. We are open to a wide range of practices and traditions, however, as an academic group, our agenda is entirely secular in nature.

Phuket International Mind Centre

The International Mind Centre offers attentional training in the cultivation of cognitive and emotional balance. The Mind Centre provides a blend of contemporary psychology and neuroscience alongside ancient Asian contemplative practices. Delivered through residential retreats and weekend seminars TMC is open to all. Working in close interaction with the PIA Day School and the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club, the programmes offered through TMC will contribute to everyone’s enhanced mental balance and wellbeing.

The Pursuit of Understanding, Happiness & Virtue:

To watch a video of Matthieu Ricard on the habits of happiness – click here .

B. Alan Wallace In The Attention Revolution. Bestselling author Alan Wallace guided readers through the stages of shamatha, a meditation for focusing the mind. Here he uses the wisdom of the Dzogchen—the highest of all the Tibetan meditation traditions—to open up this practice into a space of freedom from hope and fear by introducing us to one of the most cherished works of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, Düdjom Lingpa’s Vajra Essence.

To watch a video of Alan Wallace on the Pursuits of Understanding, Happiness and Virtue – click here .

Mindfulness

Over 30 years ago Jon Kabat-Zinn began his work with Mindfulness, since then this work has spread worldwide and is rapidly growing in the UK today.

This form of secular mindfulness is used in stress reduction, pain control, controlling depression and addiction treatment. There are now degrees in Mindfulness in several universities.

Links to these resources include:

Bangor University Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice

Bangor University’s Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice is the oldest research and training establishment and programme outside the CFM in Massachusetts.

The Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice (CMRP)

CMRP is a self-funding organisation based in School of Psychology which is part of Bangor University. The CMRP is committed to the promotion of wellbeing through the application of mindfulness-based approaches. This is achieved by training professionals in the application of mindfulness based approaches and researching applications of mindfulness.

We also offer classes in mindfulness based stress reductions (MBSR) and mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT) to specific populations and the general public both locally and further afield.

Oxford University Mindfulness Centre

The Oxford Mindfulness Centre (OMC) was founded in 2007 within Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry with independent charitable status. It draws on Oxford’s 800 year-old tradition of world-renowned scholarship and science, and the latest evidence-based medicine. The OMC’s vision is to prevent depression and enhance human potential through the therapeutic use of mindfulness.

Essential Education

Essential Education is an initiative of The Foundation for Developing Compassion and Wisdom, a non-profit organisation set up in January 2005. Working at the grassroots, it provides resources, training and connections for use in schools and colleges, healthcare, hospices and drug rehab, prisons, workplace and the home.

The aim of Essential Education is to take forward the Dalai Lama’s vision by helping children, youth and adults of all cultures and traditions to develop their innate capacity to be kind and wise, and contribute to peace in the world. Just as there is growing awareness of environmental issues, so there needs to be more awareness of our inner environment. This is actually the most important issue.

16 Guidelines for Life

The 16 Guidelines are direct and practical tools for making life better. They provide a simple, robust framework for reflecting on the ways we think, speak, act and find meaning in life, and for creating the causes of true happiness and fulfillment.

The 16 Guidelines is also a versatile and evolving educational toolkit, consisting of workshops and resources for all ages.

The 16 Guidelines promote mindfulness and wisdom in schools, with youth, in healthcare, prisons, the workplace and the home.

Launched in 2006, the 16 Guidelines are already in action in 22 countries worldwide, and growing.